Before you leave
by Electrica
Summary: The Final Battle takes place within Hogwarts territory, Tonks finds her way into someone's life as she struggles to survive. Chapter 9 is ready!
1. Chapter 1

A dark-robed figure crashed violently against a grey stone wall before collapsing on the cold floor with a soft groan. Landing painfully on her bruised back, Tonks opened her dizzy eyes and pushed her battered body into a sitting position. Her hands were blackened with soot and scorch marks, her robes were torn in so many places that the pale skin of her arms was practically exposed as she struggled to balance her weight and fight the drowsiness that was beginning to attack her aching head.

_Oh not now!_, Tonks thought desperately as her eyes blinked the sleep away, she was still sitting; her back pressed against the wall she had painfully met on her violent take off, she stared with half-opened eyes at the battle taking place inside Hogwarts' Great Hall. Dozens of black-robed Death Eaters were moving as one, a large black mob of faceless shapes with wands aloft and firing spells at everyone and everything in sight. The House Tables had been used as barricades when they had seen the first group of Death Eaters climb the stone steps into the main doors, Tonks and the younger members of the Order had propped the heavy wooden tables into the doors, believing that it would buy them some time, they were wrong, a few minutes later they were all blasted away with a well-placed charm by a heavy Death Eater. Now, the evil wizards were mercilessly attacking, their wands produced bright blurs as they were brandished violently and destroyed the Great Hall.

Tonks had managed to bring down five Death Eaters, but they had also taken a piece of her as well, her right shoulder was cut so badly that it was hard to see were skin ended and muscle started and a long purple bruise decorated the right side of her face in a semi-circular fashion.

The other members weren't so lucky; at least two of them had been killed with the dreaded green flash of light, leaving their empty and cold bodies sprawled in weird angles. Charlie Weasley was slumped on the far corner of the Great Hall, propped against the corner of the room with his head was hanging and his short legs were extended in front of him as though he were taking a nap, Tonks narrowed her eyes at him, trying to catch a glimpse of any movement but it was hard to tell if the red-head was alive.

She turned her attention to the wizards in front of her, a small band of Death Eaters were using one of the less-battered House tables as some kind of fort, crouching behind the wide wooden board and firing spells with steady arms at the members of the Order who in turn, had aimed their spells at the table the evil wizards were using. It took less than a minute to destroy the table, sending bits and large chunks of heavy wood into the air after a loud and violent explosion produced by a powerful spell from Hermione's wand. Tonks grinned at the girl and stood up on weary legs, steadying herself with a hand against the wall behind her and shaking her head, trying to rid her pink hair from the small bits of wood that may have stuck in the short strands.

The Death Eaters had been thrown back and many of them were lying on the floor, groaning and moving gingerly, trying to rid their limbs from the burning pain of the explosion.

"Oi!" Tonks called at the Order, waving with a strong hand, she pointed at the group of Death Eaters that were still standing and she made her way over cracks on the floor and large stones that had been removed from the walls by poorly aimed spells, she leaped over an unconscious Death Eater and flicked her wand with a quick movement, sending a red jet of light at the nearest wizard in front of her, the spell hit hard, targeting his chest and with a loud "Ooof!" he was thrown back, his arms and legs flew right behind him as he landed hard.

His partners wasted no time and attacked Tonks with loud cries of anger and shock, throwing herself sideways behind a large block of stone, the spells hit the surface of the block and left white scorch marks. "Well, that was stupid" Tonks muttered with a grimace as she raised a hand to massage her left arm and leaned her head back on the stone with a sigh. Suddenly a shower of small rocks and dust rained on her, she covered her head with her bruised arms. "Little help here!", she called out to anyone who would listen. _Harry, Hermione…or even Ron_, she thought with worry etched on her large eyes as she gripped her wand and shook her head, deciding on what to do next.

Making a mental note to slap herself if she managed to survive, Tonks took a deep breath and stood up with a jump, she had to duck a second later as a female Death Eater fired a green jet of light at her rising head. "Oh, shit!" she breathed and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end as the heat of the spell exploded behind her, sending dust and rocks into the air.

Blinking away the dust, Tonks stuck her head from one side of the block and fired a spell into the Death Eater; the woman blocked it and leaped in front of the stone that Tonks had used as cover.

"So, you want to do it one-on-one?" Tonks muttered with a grin and stepped from behind the stone block, her wand was ready as she made a circular movement to block the spell that had already made its way towards her stomach.

"Here, have a nice day" Tonks called to the woman, as her own wand emitted a powerful jet of light that bounded the Death Eaters arms and legs making the woman topple face first into the dusty stone floor.

"Aaaah!" a soft scream made Tonks turn her attention from the unmoving woman before her, to the opposite wall of where she stood. Her eyes landed on a white-blond head and she gasped with an alarming look in her face, the blond robed figure was cornered by two Death Eaters and by the sound of it, they were about to finish toying with their victim.

Tonks ran towards the battling trio and ducked a spell without stopping to see who had attacked her; she skidded on the dusty floor, nearly loosing her balance before crashing into of the Death Eaters black-robed back. _Great time to be a klutz!_, Tonks scolded herself as the Death Eater let out a surprised scream and crashed on the wall in front of them, banging his head on the grey stone, the man was knocked unconscious and fell into a sleeping heap at Tonks' feet. The other Death Eater, taller and heavier than the other, blocked Tonks from the blond figure behind him as she stared defiantly up at the faceless robe. Without any warning, the large man pounced on the pink-haired girl with a snarl, crashing on the hard floor, Tonks jabbed at the man with her forearms, trying to push him off of her. The Death Eater pulled his hood with a large hairy hand and revealed his face; Fenrir Greyback was looking down with a hungry stare at Tonk's neck as the girl widened her eyes in fear, she raised her arms and brought them down into Greyback's shoulders, her knees jabbed at the werewolf desperately.

"Scared?" whispered Greyback, lowering his face close to Tonks' face, his eyes trailed her neck with a longing look of desire, "don't worry, you won't feel a thing".


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you very much for your review **Feltonsgirl90210. **I also enjoy reading Tonks related stories, she is my favorite character!

Anyway, I must warn you that this will be slash in future chapters, if not in chapter 3 (I'm working on it).

Greyback's hot breath filled Tonks's nostrils as the werewolf bared his yellow fangs with a crazed look in his narrowed eyes. _Great_, Tonks thought as she tried with all her might to push the beast away from her, _I'll probably die from the stink before he gets to sink his bloody teeth into me._

Tonks pushed with her heels against the stone floor, trying to slide from under Greyback while digging her fingernails into his hairy arms.

"Get off of me, dog breath!" she cried while shrugging her shoulders high enough to cover an area of her exposed neck.

Greyback let out a sneer and raised his strong hands towards Tonks's neck, grasping it with tremendous force and digging his own sharp nails into the soft skin, a small trickle of blood poured through the werewolf's fingers and down his wrists. With a delusional fanged smile, the man brought a hand to his face and licked the blood off his fingers with a low growl.

_He's toying with me, _Tonks grabbed at the hand that still held a strong grip on her neck, trying to pry the fingers open with her tired hands and kicking the man's shins harder than ever; she was beginning to black out, as breath slowly left her burning lungs.

Suddenly, Greyback let out an angry growl as he was pulled back from the pink-haired girl; it seemed as someone had gotten hold of the hair on the back of Greyback's head as he raised his hands and swiped blindly at something behind his back.

Tonks took a deep painful breath and pushed herself away from the kneeling werewolf, who was trashing wildly, trying to release his hair from the strong grip. Sitting up with a groan, Tonks stuck a hand inside her robes, searching for her wand frantically while Greyback continued to howl and scream.

"Dammit!" Tonks cried as she shook her head and patted her clothes, she had lost her wand! "Where the Hell is it?"

"Your wand eez beside zis animal's foot!" a loud voice cried from behind Greyback, who had managed to climb into his feet, he was now shaking his head with enough force to break his thick neck. A long thin arm, had wrapped its way across Greyback's neck as the werewolf continued with the violent struggle.

Tonks spotted her wand on the floor, very close to Greyback's left foot, if she didn't retrieve itnowthe wandwas going to be smashed by the werewolf's heavy boots.

With a quick dive at the man's legs, Tonks miscalculated the distance and ended up knocking Greyback's legs backwards, the man widened his eyes as his body toppled forwards over a crouched Tonks.

"Aaaaaah!" the person holding on to Greyback had joined him for the ride as the werewolf fell on his face, his legs had wrapped around Tonks's waist, trapping the girl with an iron hold.

"Not again!" Tonks growled, she was flat on her stomach, lying on top of Greyback's right leg.

"Do you always 'ave to be so clumzee?"

Tonks turned her head at the comment; her eyes were narrowed in exasperation as she laid eyes on the person holding a struggling Greyback.

Her heart skipped a beat as she caught sight of a long sheet of silvery hair, Tonks blinked as she realized it was Fleur Delacour who had pulled the werewolf back from her. The French girl was still holding the man's wide shoulders with an arm as she maintained her hold on his dirty hair with a determined look.

Tonks shook her head and resumed her search for the wand, lowering her head to the floor, she looker around; it was under Greyback's thigh, reaching with a bruised hand under the man's strong leg, Tonks grabbed at the tip of her wand with outstretched fingers.

"Hurry!" Fleur cried with a shocked voice, she was losing her grip on Greyback, he had managed to release his head from Fleur's hold. Tonks dug her fingers deeper into the small space between Greyback's thigh and the stone floor; she pulled at the wand, bringing the tip outwith her frantic fingers.

Greyback had pushed himself with his arms, knocking Fleur off of his back, the girl let out a small cry of surprise as she fell hard on her side.

"Stupid girl!" he bellowed and launched his arms at Fleur's shoulders with a hungry look in his wild face. Greyback's legs had lost their grip on Tonks's waist and the girl lost no time in handling her wand and shooting a Stunning Spell with a flick of her wand.

The jet of light hit Greyback's back and blasted him forward over Fleur's head, the werewolf crashed loudly several feet away on the floor, he was out cold.

Sighing loudly, Tonks looked at Fleur, who was breathing heavily and rubbing her shoulders with a grimace.

"Well, that's that" Tonks muttered and climbed to her feet, her eyes scanned the Great Hall for any other Death Eaters, her fellow members of the Order had taken care of them; a large pile of faceless figures were now huddled in the middle of the large room, many of them were unconscious, leaving only half a dozen terribly wounded.

_This was only the first attack down here,_ Tonks thought as she looked over at the other robed figures, the members of the Order that had been killed, they were still lying on the floor, if it weren't for the positions they had acquired on the fall, it would've seen as if they were only taking a nap, _I hope that the others upstairs are not having a tough time._

Looking down at Fleur, Tonks's breath caught in her chest as shestared at the younger girl, after a few seconds she offered Fleur a hand to help her up.

Fleur was massaging her sore shoulders with shaky hands; she was deep in thought as she failed to notice Tonks's hand beside her face. _It was so close,_ Fleur thought with a grimace, _what if that beast had bitten me…like he bit Bill._

"Fleur" a soft voice brought Fleur back from her troubled thoughts; she looked up and noticed Tonks's bruised hand reaching down to her.

Attempting a small smile, Fleur took it and she was pulled up by the pink-haired girl, her feet felt like lead as she struggled to stand beside Tonks.

Fleur took a deep breath and looked around the Great Hall; her eyes were filled with sadness as she trailed her stare on their dead companions. _They were so young_, she thought and a burning sensation began to rise on her throat, Fleur turned her eyes on the Death Eaters and felt a rush of anger as she laid eyes on Greyback's immobile form, he had taken Bill away from her and she would never rest until the werewolf was dead.

Fleur tightened her hands into fists and noticed that she was still holding Tonks's hand on her own; Fleur looked at Tonks, who was still so concentrated on hearing any other battling sounds that she failed to feel the French girl's grip on her hand, and looked down at her slipper-clad feet with a smile.

Even though Tonks made her inner anxious personality explode into exasperated cries, Fleur considered Tonks a very dear friend, she didn't know the Metamorphmagi as well as she'd like, but being around her was always fun and made Fleur forget about Bill's death for a few minutes.

Fleur's thoughts wavered to the heavy bandaged Bill and she blinked the rising tears with a low cry, while she pulled her hand away from Tonks's with a violent jerk of her arm.

"Why didn't you kill him?" Fleur demanded, pointing at a surprised Tonks, her voice was calm but accusing as her head was filled with horrible visions of Bill's deformed face as he lay on a hospital bed. "He killed Bill" her voice was just above a whisper, only Tonks could hear Fleur's mutterings as they stood on the Great Hall, surrounded by destroyed walls and tables, by bodies of their friends and enemies.

Tonks opened her mouth to answer the shuddering girl and her eyes widened with uncertainty. "I…don't like killing" Tonks answered with a low voice as she continued to look at the blonde girl, "unless I have to".

Tonks knew Fleur was still hurting and there was nothing else she'd rather do than comfort the girl but now was not the time for crying, if Moody was right, more Death Eaters would be making their way into Hogwarts...soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you **slightly so**! I'm glad you are enjoying my story! I'm quite surprised that this pair isn't famous at all.

A low rumbling noise was heard miles away from where Tonks stood, causing a slight earthquake that shook the lands surrounding Hogwarts and Hogsmead . The tall trees swayed back and forth as many small creatures scampered through the Echanted Forest, trying to hide from whatever was causing the frightening sound.

Tonks left a crying Fleur inside the Great Hall, deciding to worry about the girl later, the Metamorphmagus strolled quickly from the Great Hall and into the main entrance. As she walked beside the Death Eaters, Tonks glared at them with a nod of her pink-haired head and stepped outside into the stone steps that lead to a long dirt path.

_Fleur's gone mental_, Tonks thought with a shake of her wild hair, _it's not right…she still hasn't forgotten Bill…_

Raising her tired eyes to the dark sky above her, Tonks noticed a black blurry form hovering a few feet away from the Enchanted Forest; frowning, Tonks jumped down a couple of steps, trying to get a better look. The blurry form appeared to be a flock of birds, batting their wings wildly and circling an area of the forest from the sky.

BROOOMMM! Tonks's legs wobbled as she tried to stay balanced on the higher steps, her eyes widened and her mouth opened in surprise, as the stones beneath her feet rumbled violently.

"The ground shook" she muttered to herself and looked behind at the few members of the Order who had followed her outside, Hermione and Ron were standing side by side, and apparently holding hands, with uncertainty etched in their faces as they too stared at the flock of birds.

"It's an army…" Hermione whispered with despair, her eyes were red and glassy, "of giants…there is nothing else that can make the earth move like this". Ron looked down at her and swallowed hard, his hand tightening around Hermione's in a reassuring way. "Don't worry…we'll take them down" he said with a dry voice, as his breathing began to quicken.

Tonks blinked as Hermione's words sunk in, her hands had started to tremble as well as her legs. _No, it can't be_, she thought, _we can't defeat an army of giants._

Her eyes stared at the forest, waiting for the creatures that had made the earth shake; she was afraid of giants ever since an encounter in which a fellow Auror had fallen prisoner of a tribe, they never saw him again, but his screams had flooded Tonks's nightmares.

_It had only been an investigation trip…but they attacked us…_

"Go inside" Tonks whispered at the others behind her as she took a step back "we have to be ready for when they come".

Hermione, Ron and the others ran back inside the castle quickly, their wands tightly clutched in shaky hands as their faces expressed anxiety and concern.

Tonks continued to stare ahead, her chest was having a hard time rising as her breath had caught somewhere between her ribs and neck; taking a step back, Tonks bumped into another body, smaller and more delicate. It wasn't long after Fleur's voice filled the scary silence "Come back eenzide". It was all she said, her words were emotionless and short as she touched Tonks's shoulder, earning a soft gasp of pain from the Metamorphmagus.

Sighing loudly, Tonks turned around and found Fleur's eyes at level with her own,( the French girl was, after all, stepping on higher ground than the pink-haired girl), with a soft motion of her hand, Fleur stroked Tonks's wild hair with similar care as if she were petting her favorite doll.

Breathing sharply, Tonks blinked with surprise at the younger girl's actions, not that she was feeling odd, but it had been a very long time since Fleur had had any kind of friendly contact with her, not since Bill's death.

Tonks needed the girl to know that she was here for her, that she would do anything to have the old Fleur back, the once who, at times, drove all of them crazy with her sweeter than sugar attitude.

But, Tonks couldn't, she needed to make sure they would be able to protect themselves from the upcoming army, there was no time to have heart-to-heart sessions. She was about to pull away from Fleur, when the blonde threw her white arms around Tonks's shoulders in a tight hug.

Tonks grimaced at the girl's touch, and her eyes began to fill with tears as she held Fleur back, _Oh, God. _"Fleur" Tonks whispered as she wiped the tears from her reddened eyes, "we have to go inside, it's too dangerous here".

Fleur's eyes were closed as she rested her head on Tonks's shoulders, unaware of the cuts that decorated the Metamorphmagus's skin; she felt so peaceful, hugging Tonks like she had never done before; it was as if their cruel and terrifying reality had paused for a few minutes.

Hearing Tonks's whisper, Fleur nodded slowly and opened her eyes with a blink of her tired eyelids; she stepped back from Tonks and trailed her hands down the girl's arms resting finally on the pink-haired girl's hands. Fleur held them with care as she continued to look into Tonks's confused eyes; she gave the older girl a smile and leaned forward into Tonks's face.

_Why am I doing this?_

Fleur kept her eyes open as she slowly brought her face closer to Tonks's, trying to decipher the emotions on the Metamorphmagus's wide eyes.

_Is she…?_

It seemed like forever to Fleur, when she finally closed the gap between and she kissed Tonks slowly, her lips pressing softly. Her eyes closed, Fleur's heart was beating incredibly fast as she continued to hold Tonks's hands. Fleur's mind was swimming in something warm and sweet as she felt the girl kiss her back; it was soft and kind as they stood their ground and entwined their fingers.

Fleur opened her eyes as Tonks pulled away with a sudden move; the Metamorphmagus had a weird look in her eyes, as if she were afraid of Fleur. After looking at the blonde for a few seconds, Tonks turned around and shook her head; she was clearly confused about what had happened between them.

"Tonks…" Fleur said with a low voice, and took a step towards the taller girl, "I'm sorry if I 'ave scared you".

"No", Tonks voice was higher than usual as she stood unmoving, looking at the dark forest. "No, Fleur…you didn't scare me".

"Then, what eez it? Why did you stop?"

"Because this isn't right, you're only doing because of…" Tonks's voice trailed off as she was about to say Bill's name.

"You're wrong, Tonks" Fleur blurted with an icy touch to her words, "it 'as nothing to do with zhat".

"Look, Fleur, I know you're still hurting…you're confused, Bill's death has been hard on us all, and I can't imagine how you've managed to pull through"

_Why are you doing this?_

Fleur opened her mouth to answer and her eyes narrowed in disbelief, she couldn't understand Tonks; didn't she feel the same towards the blonde girl as Fleur felt towards Tonks?

"I think I'm going back inside…" Fleur whispered sadly, as her eyes left a troubled Tonks. She walked back inside the main entrance and looked back at the slim figure of the Metamorphmagus pacing, her head hanging low as Tonks's muttered to herself.

_Oh, please…since when has Fleur acted this strange? She's just confused…and beautiful. Stop that, you git! _

Tonks was shaking her head frantically, trying to forget what had just happened a few minutes earlier. Tonks's hands were deep inside her pockets as her long legs continued to stroll back and forth.

_It was only a friendly kiss, I'm sure it meant nothing…to her._

Another rumble stopped Tonks from pacing as she raised her head and gasped in horror, she had just seen a head poking from the tallest leaves of the trees that surrounded the outer perimeter of forest.

After sending her silvery Patronus into the night sky, Tonks jumped quickly up the stone steps and ran into the Great Hall, her eyes made out the remaining members of the Order, they were only teenagers…a young and confused Auror, a determined French girl and a band of Hogwarts students was all that was left inside the first floors of the castle…this did not look good.

"They're coming…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you Feltonsgirl90210! I'm glad you like it! Sorry I took too long updating, school's a bitch!**

Blue eyes were wide and in discreet terror as they watched Tonks jump inside the castle; Fleur's brain had somehow shut down for a few seconds as those dreadful words pierced her thoughts.

_Oh God…no, please…_

She gazed at Tonks with a small grimace as the Metamorphmagus organized a barricade with the few blocks of stone that might help them in some way; Fleur wanted to punch Tonks, did she really think that a few rocks would stop the giants from coming in? As huge as those stones may be, they were just pebbles to those immense creatures.

Fleur's eyes streamed a few silent tears as she stood behind Tonks, staring at her dusty robed-back with an expression of despair and uncertainty as the pink-haired girl charmed a large slab of grey stone into the air and rammed it against a door with a flick of her wand.

"We're going to die" the words were out of her mouth before she could formulate what she was going to say. Everyone inside the Great Hall turned away from what they were doing to look at her; Fleur narrowed her eyes in confusion and stared at a nonplussed Tonks.

"No, we're not" Tonks replied with a shake of her disheveled head, the pink strands waving wildly as she did, coming to rest in spiky shapes that covered her right eye as she faced the blonde girl.

Fleur's hand itched to pull at the strands, wantingto be closer to the older girl; her eyes were focused on the few colorful hairs that covered that pale and tired face.

_She probably 'asn't slept een days…_

"I know zhat…" Fleur blurted with a dry whisper as she raised a shaky hand to wipe away her tears, only to find that they had already dried.

Prying her eyes from Tonks, Fleur bit her lower lip and blinked slowly, her eyes felt dry and sandy, as if she had spent a whole day in a desert.

_I'm not going to die; I'm a fighter…why am I so scared? _

_I was chosen for the Triwizard Tournament…I'm not a coward…_

A growl invaded the Hall, rattling the loose stones that had not fallen from the walls and making their legs tremble. Nobody moved a muscle, no one made a sound; their eyes and ears were concentrated, hands clutching wands and feet firmly planted.

Ten few feet behind Fleur, a tall red-headed boy and a bushy haired girl held hands in determination, their eyes were wide but if they were scared, it was the last thing that anyone would've guessed.

"Tonks…"

Tonks turned from her position in front of the main doors; her eyes rested on Fleur, the girl had whispered her name in worry. Tonks's mouth shifted into an uncomfortable smile as her face stung with pain, her wounds were still very tender as she attempted a grin.

"Just try to avoid their feet and we'll be alright" Tonks muttered with a slight chuckle, trying to find the humour, her eyes betrayed her; the Metamorphmagus's heart was beating hard as she looked into Fleur's face.

_We'll be alright, Fleur…you'll be alright._

With a quick stride, Tonks stepped beside Fleur and passed an arm around the younger girl's small shoulders, giving her a hug. She closed her eyes as the younger girl crept closer and clung to her waist with a tight hold; Fleur rested her head on Tonks's shoulder with a smile,but shebacked away after a sharp intake of breath from the Metamorphmagus.

"What?" Fleur looked up at Tonks, eyes narrowed into blue-ish gleams as she stared at the wincing girl. "Are you 'urt?"

_Yeah…but it's not what you think it is…_

"No…it's nothing, just a scratch…we better stay away from these doors, wouldn't want anyone killed before we get a chance to attack"

It was hard for Tonks, pulling away from Fleur was the last thing in the world she'd ever do, but she was being selfish…only caring about Fleur when teenagers were risking their lives, after all, she was the only Auror downstairs, it was her duty to protect them at all costs. Her arm recoiled slowly, taking in as much of Fleur's body as she could, Tonks took a few steps away from the girl.

Another growl, stronger this time, sent waves of shaking ground under their feet as the wooden doors began to tremble violently. It filled their ears in painful drumming and attacked their tired heads with blinding aches. Dust began to rain from above, result of the quickening loose stones that had been blasted by spells from the previous battle, if they weren't careful it could be more than just dust that fell on their heads.

With a silent nod, Tonks led the weary group to a small chamber behind the High Table; it was the same room where the Triwizard Champions had walked into after having their names expelled from the Goblet of Fire. The fire was out, leaving only cold embers and grey fleeting shadows from the dimming magic candles on the Great Hall.

The sound was increasing and the walls shook harder than ever, they could hear the rattling of stones they had propped up against the doors.

"What about the Death Eaters?" Ron whispered from the other side of the room, his face was barely visible as he leaned into a wall.

"Nothing we can do about it" Tonks answered, she was crouched low beside the door with her face pressed against the stone, "the giants'll probably take care of 'em before they find us"

"So, we're just leaving them there?" a high shrill voice demanded, a second later Hermione stepped forward and her attitude was so menacing Tonks looked back from her spot.

"Of course…what would you have me do? Strap them on my back and carry them around while trying to dodge 20-tons of muscle?"

"We can't just leave them…they'll be killed!" Hermione was raising her hands into fists as she said this, her face was angry and scrunched into a grimace.

Tonks shook her head and sighed with a frown. "I'm sorry Hermione, but it's either them or…" her voice trailed into silence as a sudden explosion of sound and quakes attacked the first floor, it was if the whole castles had been rammed by a giant fist.

"Shit!" Tonks cried out and covered her face with her arms as a large cloud of brown dust filled her eyes andmade its way across the Great Hall towards them, trapping everything it passed into a dusty nothingness.

"Look out!"

The cloud hit them hard, sending them back against the opposite wall in a painful crash; many of them had breathed in the brown contents and were now staggering in vain attempts to catch their breaths as their limbs twitched.

Tonks found her body sprawled against a corner; her back had taken the worst as she tried to push herself into shaky legs. Shaking her head, trying to rid her hair of the heavy dust she called out."Is everyone alright? They must've blasted the whole wall…"

She had been lucky; her lungs were not filled with much dust as Dennis Creevey's, the young boy had fallen to his knees in pain, clutching his chest, he was hidden from view as the dust filled the entire room. No one noticed when he finally died, curled beside the chimney with a frightened look in his eyes; they could only hear his low grunts as they stumbled blindly into positions.

Fleur bumped into a body, her eyes had been spared from the cloud and she had managed to cover her nose and mouth with the sleeve of her robe, but she couldn't make out who it was. She raised her head and felt a something soft pressed against her cheek; a small cry met hers as she raised her hand and touched a face.

The blonde knew it was Tonks before her hand traced the delicate jaw line with a slow stroke, who else made her mind go blank and her blood boil with emotion?

It was impossible to see, but Fleur knew it was her; she had memorized the Metamorphmagus's face and had traced it inside her mind countless times.

Her thin fingers danced on Tonks's face and Fleur smiled, the older girl wasn't pulling away from her. Their faces were so close it was hard not to feel nervous as the blonde changed course and caressed Tonks's neck; landing on her shoulder, Fleur's hand pulled Tonks into her body and kissed her fiercely.

_We're in the middle of a war…why am I doing this?_

Fleur's other arms was making its way towards the Metamorphmagus's waist and her heart beat faster when Tonks began to run fingers through her blond hair while returning the kiss with similar passion, pushing against Fleur's body.

Her mind was racing, she was making out with Fleur inside a room full of teenagers! Lucky for them, the room was so full of dust it was hard to see to the other side of the room, where Fleur was now being pinned against the wall.

_This would be a good lesson for Auror training…_

Tonks's lips trailed Fleur's neck with avid kisses as she lifted the girl's hands and pressed them firmly to the wall behind the French girl's head, trapping them under her own, their fingers entwined and held tightly.

A soft moan rewarded Tonks as she inched closer to Fleur's body, kissing her lips again with a soft motion. The blonde girl lowered her hands and circled eager arms around Tonks's waist, pulling the Metamorphmagus into a deeper kiss.

"Oi!" a loud voice made the pair pull away, had someone witnessed their session?

No, if any, it was darker than before, not even a small light could be seen; and apparently, _Lumos_ hadn't been able to make a way through the oppressing darkness, Hermione had made sure of that as she flicked her wand and muttered a vast collection of spells.

Suddenly, a multitude of howls filled the room, though it seemed as if they came from outside their shelter; the screams pierced the darkness in terrible agony, words that were too strained to be understood were howled as louder growls flooded the shrill voices.

Ron, who was closer to the door, was huddled against the wall and leaning his head sideways in an attempt to make out the words.

"They're eating the Death Eaters….they're eating them alive"


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi everyone, sorry I took so long!It's just thatschool is takingEVERY second of my life! This chapter is a bit shorter than the other four, the plotline is taking a weird turn, I hope you enjoy it!**

**Feltonsgirl90210: your reviews make my day! Thank you very much for your kind words!I'm glad you enjoy my story!**

**FairyPrincessofBurkinaFas: I will certainly take your advice and accept anonymous reviews! Thank you very much for your comment!**

Ron's words hung heavily inside the dark chamber, there was no echo, but it seemed as if Tonks could still hear the red-head's voice.

Her eyes were wide and her lungs burned terribly, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, the Metamorphmagus closed her eyes and sighed with concern.

_Great…so what's for lunch?_

Tonks had backed away from Fleur after Ron spoke; she had though for a second that the teen had managed to spot them under the dark blanket that filled the chamber.

Now, she had no idea where the French girl stood, but there were other things that needed to be taken care of first, nevertheless, Tonks turned around and, in vain, attempted to make out Fleur's form through the dark.

A small muffled cry began to make its way, cutting the silence that had arisen after Ron's, it was soon accompanied by stammers and mean words.

"Shut up, they're going to hear us"

"You shut it, we're going to die anyways"

"You're such a baby!"

"They're going to hear us!"

"If you don't shut up I swear I'm going to jinx you!"

"No one's going to jinx anyone!" Tonks hissed and shook her head in exasperation; her hands were at her sides, shaking with anger, "just shut up and we'll be okay".

_Will we…?_

"Why hasn't the Order arrived down here?" Tonks muttered to herself, it had been a while since she sent her Patronus as a message to the other members of the Order. Is it possible that Moody, Lupin or anyone else had failed to spot it? After all, they were fighting against Lord Voldemort's more powerful Death Eaters and the evil wizard himself.

Stepping forward, Tonks stuck out her arm and walked slowly hoping to bump into a wall. After a few minutes of poking eyes and stepping on toes, Tonks hit her knee against a stone wall.

"Shit!" she cried and massaged the stinging spot as her hand pressed the stones at her side.

"What happened?"

"The giants'll hear you!"

"We're going to die!"

"Shut it!" Tonks cried out and straightened herself, bending her sore knee. Following the wall with two fingers, Tonks found the door that lead to the Main Hall as her foot connected with Ron's head.

"Ow!"

"Sorry" the Auror muttered and crouched next to him; cocking her head to one side, trying to catch a sound of what was going on in the next room.

Faint growls and drips made their way into Tonk's ears sending shivers down her back as her knuckles whitened, because of the increasing strength of her hold on the entrance's frame.

"Look" she whispered to Ron, "I'm going outside, to see what's going on…stay here and keep them quiet…If I'm not back in twenty minutes…just, don't move from here, if they haven't spotted us now I doubt they will". Tonks stepped over a shocked Ron and leaned down, her hands supporting her weight as she slowly lowered herself and pressed her body against the stone floor.

"What if they do…?" Ron whispered to himself.

Swallowing hard, the Metamorphmagus stuck her head through the doorframe and felt a fresh burst of cold air followed by a bright light that pierced through her eyelids.

"Ahhh…" her voice cracked, as she raised her hands to cover her eyes, the light was so bright and her eyes were painfully attempting to focus.

Pushing the rest of her body with her legs, Tonks entered the Main Hall, blindly reaching out with her arms while she managed to stick her body close to the wall. If she was going to face giants, she'd better be careful and keep out of their sight for a while.

Fleur was walking across the room, it was as if she knew exactly where she was heading, her arms were swinging at her sides and her steps were confident. She was trying to remain calm, her heart was beating very fast and her forehead was damp.

Fleur was nervous; she had to walk the sensation off.

_Feeleeng nervous will only make theengs worse._

She had heard Tonk's angry hisses and a small whispered conversation somwhere inside the room, but Fleur couldn't see a couple of inches from her nose.

Her eyes stared at the dark blanket that flooded their senses and she hung her head with sadness. Fleur's thoughts took her to the past when she was engaged to Bill Weasley, how happy they had been, and the future that awaited them.

_Why am I thinking aboutthat now?Am I afraid of never feeling happy again?_

Bill's face was swimming in her head only to be replaced by a pink haired someone…

Her heart beat faster and her face flushed as Fleur took in what had happened a few minutes ago, a small smile crept on her shivering lips and she had to struggle against crying out something to Tonks not apt for the young ears that accompanied her.

"Tonks?" her voice cut through the stony silence and echoed softly against the walls, she was anxious to talk to the Metamorphmagus and maybe…

Fleur moved a few steps to the right and called out again, there was no answer.

"She went outside…", Ron's voice announced from the other side of the room, "she said to wait for her".

Dark blue eyes widened in shock and a small gasp escaped from Fleur's mouth as she made her way towards Ron's voice with a quick stride, her heels connected with the stones sending waves of soft tapping noises.

_Dammit, what eez she thinking?_

Fleur stopped before running into Ron's sitting figure and leaned over him, her blonde hair fanning her face as she spoke to the young man.

"What eez she trying to do?"

"I'm not sure, I think she's trying to get help…she can't possibly take all the giants down herself"

Fleur narrowed her eyes at the thought of fighting dozens of giants alone, it was near right impossible, well, maybe except for Dumbledore.

"You can't save everyone, Tonks" Fleur whispered and she stepped in front of the stone door frame that leads to the Main Hall, "not alone".

Tonks's eyes finally adjusted to the light, she had remained crouched against a wall with a hand touching the stone floor and her wand in the other. Raising her blurred eyes, she let out a gasp and backed away with a strong leap that made her land on her butt.

Her face contorted in grim features as she surveyed the room…


	6. Chapter 6

First of all I'd like to thank the 160 people that have skimmed through this story, reviews are appreciated, too (hint). 

**tas ():** Thank you very much for your review, hopefully I'll be able to dig a few more chapters out from my head before term starts.

"What did you see?" a shrill whisper flooded the silence inside the dark room, the voice echoed ever so slightly on the stone walls and nearly every single teenager broke out in angry groans and hissings.

"Shut it, git!", a narrow-eyed Ron muttered with a fist raised in front of his face. Useless, of course, because he had no idea of who had been the whisperer.

Somehow, the dark blanket had begun to vanish into a grayish mist that was still enough to blind them, keeping them still and quiet as Hermione told the story of how Ron and Harry had saved her from the troll a few years back, when they had been first years.

"Well", the bushy haired witch stammered and blinked, "Ron raised his wand and levitated the troll's club…"

"Way to go, Ron!"

"I'm warning you, I'll jinx you if you don't shut up!"

"We're going to die!"

"Oh, come off it! Just ignore 'em 'Mione!", Ron shook his head and rolled his eyes, his red hair shaking before coming to a rest on his pale forehead.

"So, the troll was knocked unconscious with his own club?"

"Well, yes and…", replied Hermione with an anxious voice as she was interrupted again.

"Wow, that's wicked!"

"No, it's not, anyone could've done it"

"Oy! I haven't seen you tackle a mountain troll on your own!", Ron hissed and stood up, with his fists shaking in silent fury.

"Oh, please Ron", Hermione muttered and shook her bushy head with a smirk, "Harry was there, too"

"But I jinxed that bloke's club!", Ron whined with a frown and sat down again, "if anyone deserves to claim your rescue, that's me"

Hermione chuckled and rolled her eyes before reaching with a cold hand towards her right side, her fingers made contact with Ron's hair and after a few seconds, she leaned on him, resting her head on the read-head's shoulder with a smile.

_Tonks…you're so stupeed…_

Fleur had her white hands resting on the stones surrounding the right side of the wooden doorframe; she hung her head and swallowed hard, while her white hair fell along with her face. Her blue eyes were closed tight and her lips were a thin pink line that was fixed in concentration, as she tried to make out the sounds that came from the Great Hall.

_I can't leave zhese children alone… Tonks!_

The French girl shook her head angrily and leaned forward, pressing her warm forehead on the cold stones, listening to anything that might indicate what was going on outside the walls of this dark room.

"Hey, I know why it's so dark!"

"Shut up!"

"Some of my Instant Darkness Powder spilled…"

"What!", Ron spat and pulled forward, with such a strong heave that Hermione was pushed face down on the floor, "it has to be thrown, not spilled! Why did you throw it?"

"I-I thought it would be a way to confuse the giants, I guess it just got blown back at us with that dust cloud"

"I am going to beat you into a bloody pulp once we get out of here!"

"Shut up!", a new voice rose above the racket, the tone was enough to silence even the Weasley twins, had they been there. Fleur walked back towards the circle of fidgeting teens and brought a hand to her waist as she regained to calm herself with slow breaths.

"If you don't mind, lower your voices…Tonks could be in trouble and if we can't ´ear whatever is ´appening…"

_We might as well give up,_ thought Tonks as her crouched form recoiled at the sight in front of her wide eyes, it was if her mind was suddenly blank and the only thing that could penetrate it was the horrifying scene that invaded the Great Hall.

"Is it possible to kill something that is already dead?", she muttered and pressed her back against the wall; Tonks broke into a cold sweat and she had to close her eyes in order to keep the retching feeling that had begun to climb through her throat as she ordered her thoughts.

_Inferi…_


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh yes, another chapter. My apologies for Chapter 6, it was very short...but hopefully I'll make it up to you with this one. Updating will also be taking place tomorrow.**

Their yellow skin sagged from their bones in such a gory fashion that they appeared to be part of a gruesome catwalk. Steps as firm and determined as if their bodies were still full of the warm heat of life, and with every move of their decaying figures, flecks of dry flesh managed to topple from their place and land on the stone floor with a sickening _plop_. They did not have much hair to worry about, only bits of graying fuzz that covered their nearly transparent scalps, making it almost possible to see their skull's sutures holding each bone in place.

But what terrified Tonks the most was the smell, the rapidly spreading odor of spoiled meat; no, it was more than that, the mixture of cow manure and an old slaughter-house would have been short on the uptake of this stench.

No words can ever be written to describe it, only possible to understand if you've seen death yourself and breathed in the aroma of decaying human flesh that has begun to change color into the characteristic shade of rotten matter.

Their exposed bones were a dirty yellow that could have made anyone retch, and with every motion of their dangling limbs, their joints creaked and cracked, threatening to shatter into tiny bits of dust.

Tonks remained in her spot, lowering her head and narrowing her bright eyes as she observed the Inferi in complete silence; fortunately for Tonks, she had managed to stay still and unseen by these cadaveric fiends as she grimaced by the nauseating spectacle.

It was true that she had never faced Inferi before, but what she had read about them during her Auror training did not prepare her for this, there had never been any course tests explaining the Inferi's habits and mode of attack, only the sole warning of their deathly visage and amazing physical strength.

No one had ever bothered mentioning to her that Inferi had the knack for eating, and the fact that they would eat humans was definitely something you could not just ignore and mask in useless texts and lessons.

Tonks leaned a bit further to get a better look, despise the horrible feeling in her stomach, and gasped in silent horror as she raised a hand to her wild hair and pulled at the short strands nervously.

No, they weren't eating the fallen Death Eaters, they were ripping them to shreds with their mangled hands, tearing into their living skin with black and green fingernails that broke when in contact with something stronger than plywood.

Bloodcurdling screams emitted from the dark wizards as the Inferi continued with their vicious carnage, tearing flesh with their fingers and with their teeth as many living hands fought with terror-stricken tremors to be free of their deathly grasps.

But it was no use, the Inferi were drenched in red blood that trickled from their ghastly faces and down to their seeping arms, dropping lightly on the stone floor and forming the elegant circular forms of gravity.

"Shit", Tonks muttered after a very loud tearing sound, something wet and heavy fell inside the circle of Inferi accompanied with a shrill moan of unimaginable pain.

_But why? Why would they kill them? Punishment for failing?_

* * *

Fleur was having thoughts of her own inside their dark fortress, as she continued to stand in front of the doorframe, eager to hear from Tonks.

Her white hands were clasped together tightly, digging her pink fingernails in the soft skin that covered her palms while her breaths came short and exasperated as she imagined that the worst possible fate had overcome the young Auror.

_Eet ´as been more zhan fifteen minutes…and no more shaking of zhe ground ´as taken place…_

The Instant Darkness Powder began to fade into a heavy white mist, and they were able to see a foot from their noses without bumping into the walls. The circle of teenagers who had been sitting on the floor were now standing and handling their wands, ready to attack when Tonks returned with information.

Fleur was about turn around and wave her wand in order to urge the teens into going inside the Great Hall and rescue Tonks, when the Metamorphmagus herself bounded into the room and crashed violently into Fleur's unexpected form.

Both girls landed with a soft groan on the cold floor, earning a few gasps and horror-filled cries.

"What happened?"

"We're going to die!"

During the riot, Tonks had managed to land on top of Fleur, her head was resting on the blonde's left shoulder and somehow their legs had intertwined into a long lock of robes and skin.

The French witch was still gasping for breath when she felt the form on top of her body struggling to get up from their position on the floor, when she realized that this might be an escaped Death Eater, eager to finish them off.

With a quick move, Fleur rose from her spot on the floor and bumped into the presumed Death Eater's chest, tackling the body with such force that they both crash landed again, but it was now Fleur who was on top.

Straddling the unknown figure's waist with steady knees and with her wand already pointing at her assailant's face; she recognized the unmistakable face of the pink-haired Auror, who in turn was sporting a confused look and a grimace that pointed out that she was in pain from the forceful fall.

Fleur widened her blue eyes and sat back, lowering her wand with a sigh and a shake of her blonde head as she swallowed a smile.

"What were you doing in front of the door?", came Tonks's voice as she continued to lie on the cold floor; pushing herself up with her elbows, she faced Fleur, who was still sitting on top of her, but of course, due to their circumstances neither of them had noticed.

"What do you zhink I was doeeng?", replied Fleur with annoyance as she glared back at Tonks, who had finally managed to hold her upper body with steady arms stretched behind her back, "I was waiting for you!"

"Oh", muttered Tonks and blinked in surprise as her glare faded into a look of flattered disbelief, before she noticed their enthralling position with a shade of a smirk on her lips. Tonks cleared her throat in order to gain Fleur's attention, but the French witch had already noticed their sitting arrangements and was quite explicit in showing it, she had actually leaned forward into Tonks's body, driven by the Auror's apologetic eyes and she would have made something of their stance if it weren't for Tonks's sudden interruption.

"You're still sitting on me", the Auror whispered with an interested look in her piercing eyes.

"Yes, I am", Fleur replied with a soft voice and a cunning smile, "care to do something about eet?"

Tonks grinned at the invite but shook her head as she pushed herself closer to a sitting position, her face coming nearer to Fleur's as she did so.

They were mere centimeters apart, white and pink strands were braiding into one as Tonks suddenly smirked a teasing smile and positioned her face beside Fleur's before whispering into her ear: "Maybe later"

Fleur narrowed her eyes at the Auror's words and frowned slightly. Using Tonks's shoulders as leverage, the French witch pushed herself up, grazing her lips over the other girl's neck before bringing her legs into a standing position.

"You are such a tease", the blonde commented and outstretched a hand toward Tonks, who rolled her eyes and took the helping hand.

"How can I be a tease, if I don't know what's going on between us?", Tronks replied as she was pulled to her feet, "for all I know, little Miss I Am So Beautiful, you're the one messing with me"

But before Fleur could counter-attack with God knows what type of comment, a scream brought them back into the room, a howl filled with pain and sorrow that invaded their ears and made their spines crawl with a cold feeling of dread.

"Oh, yes", said Tonks as a matter-of-fact, "it's not giants we're worrying about now".


	8. Chapter 8

**Technopaienne: Thank you veryfor your comments! I hope that you enjoy this chapter!**

Icy blue eyes widened and the white eyebrows that framed them, lowered into a sharp frown that transformed Fleur's face into a somewhat comical portrait as the French witch stared, in absolute confusion, at Tonks.

"What?", Fleur asked in a high tone, as she lowered her neck and stared up at the Auror in an impersonation of the typical jaw-dropping scene, "what is this you're saying?"

Tonks bit her lips from the inside and blinked at Fleur's tone before she turned towards the French voice; surprisingly, she was able to make out the blonde girl's features with little struggle, for the white mist had faded into a light breeze that played with their eyes.

Taking in Fleur's eyes and the small frown, Tonks smirked and let out a small chuckle that ended with a long sigh. "What?", Fleur demanded the same question and stepped closer to the Auror, raising her face up to the same level as Tonks's, she was obviously annoyed at the other girl's cocky grin.

"Nothing", muttered Tonks and attempted a feeble smile, "it's just that you look…nice, when you're confused". That said, the Auror raised a shaky hand and tugged at her pink strands with a nervous grin before adapting a business-like tone and fashion when she spoke again. Fleur rolled her eyes and shook her head with a small smile, her blonde hair flowing with every move as she took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh similar to that of the Auror.

_Nice? Oh reelly? Like she's about to say anytheeng more zhan just "nice"_

"Ok then, I suppose you haven't forgotten when the ground shook?", Tonks addressed the crowd with a crooked grin, "well, rest assured…it's not giants"

The pack of teenage wizards and witches sighed in content as they smiled with this bit of information. Unfortunately, their pitiful celebration was just about to end, when Tonks shifted uncomfortably and crossed her arms in front of her chest as serious tone rose to her voice.

"Inferi", the Auror muttered and paused, savoring the distaste at the sound of the word in her voice, "is what's outside…I know you're familiar with these creatures, but I doubt you've ever faced one"

Hermione gasped in terror, her brown eyes narrowed in recognition of the horrors she had only met in books, gruesome illustrations portraying the outcome of battling Inferi having their way with a wizard invaded her thoughts.

Fleur shook her head, but this time, her eyes were closed with despair and no trace of a smile could be found in her worried face as she thought desperately of a way to survive this attack. Her thoughts soared over spells and enchantments that could to the trick, but she was only thinking of herself, what about the others? Would she save her Veela skin and leave the young wizards to die? Leave Tonks to face Inferi alone?

Another shake of her blonde head and Fleur knew that she would never do such a thing, opening her eyes and blinking a few times, the French witch glanced at the multitude of students in their Hogwarts robes. No, she couldn't leave them.

"I think that the Full Body Bind might work"

"But, what if it doesn't?"

"How about Disarming?"

"We just have to make sure the Inferi don't touch us, I've read somewhere that their very touch can kill"

"So Disarming Spells are in order, right?"

"I believe so…but we must try anything else to avoid contact.Oh, yes, and fire is most effective too"

Tonks listened at their horror-stricken voices with her arms tightly crossed, but after a few seconds, she cleared her throat, demanding attention from the youths.

"You know what we have to do", she began with a soft voice, and continued with a shake of her pink hair "it's not just a choice anymore. Live or die, we're all fighting for one thing: peace. And there is little we have to do, comparing it with what…Harry has to do", Tonks glanced at Hermione and Ron with a sad smile.

"I'm just glad that we're not facing Voldemort", Tonks added and chuckled with another tug at her hair. "This is a bit stupid, I know…but just keep in mind that this is just another battle and…don't stare at the Inferi, you'll get queasy" she said with another smirk.

The teens stared at Tonks in complete disbelief, but even so, a few managed to crack small smiles at the Auror's air-headed speech.

"Alright", Tonks declared with a grin, "wands out…"

"So, no good-byes?", Fleur's clear voice rose from behind Tonks's form.

Tonks narrowed her eyes and turned to face a smiling Fleur, "I wasn't finished, yet, Fleur" she said with a frown and looked back at the youths "anyway, we don't have much time to lose, so make it quick"

But, unfortunately for those who were aching for a well-deserved goodbye, a loud growl pierced their muttering voices, a cry so human and yet so animalistic in nature that many interpreted the wail as that belonging to some wild animal that roamed the Forbidden Forest.

Tonks spun on her heel and faced the now visible doorway with a grimace as she braced herself, waiting for anything to come inside. Motioning with her head, she led the way to the frame and placed a bruised hand on the cold stones beside the door leaning forward to get a better look at what had caused the growl.

As if on cue, the ghastly face of a yellow corpse appeared in front of Tonks, the sunken eyes were white and the wrinkled lips were open in a strange moan of angst as the Auror cried out and let out a series of slashes with her wand.

The Inferius was thrown back with another long howl as its body sailed over the carnage that covered the Great Hall's floor, to end at the feet of its cadaveric companions, who in turn lifted their rotten heads and aimed a searing glance at Tonks, who had just stepped forward.

"Oh, now they've seen us", Ron chimed in from behind Tonks's shoulder.

"Let's just get this over with", was the Auror's response as she strolled towards the Inferi, she raised her wand and a series of red jets of light were fired at the corpses.

A couple of Inferi were still standing after Tonks's attack, the others had fallen with a wet thudding sound, but now they were picking their mutilated bodies up from the floor as they moved towards the wizards with an unearthly crawl.

Spells came down on the Inferi with a furious force as the bodies continued to make their way forward, stopping once or twice when an arm or a leg was pushed out of place by a well-aimed spell but it didn't take them long to pop their joints back together with a sickening sound.

"This is so sick!"

"I can't look at them!"

A thin stream of fire erupted from behind Tonks, and circled around the body of an Inferius that came dangerously close to Charlie Weasley's slumped form.

Ron's face was filled with deep sorrow at the sight of his older brother and his wand erupted with another jet of fire aimed at the already torched Inferius.

"Aagh!", a loud shrill scream rose from above all, and Tonks glanced sideways at a young boy being shoved aside by a large Inferius that began to curl its bony fingers with greed as the boy shrieked at its naked feet.

Tonks aimed her wand at the battling couple when she felt a sharp pain at her side and her knees began to buckle, making the young Auror land on her hands and knees before uttering a sharp gasp of pain.

Her wand was still clenched in a tight grip but the pain was unbelievable, swimming down to her right leg and up her abdomen, Tonks raised her eyes and met a pair of robed legs.

"Silly girl", a cruel voice declared, "Inferi in Howgarts…as if the Dark Lord needed these wretched servants to do His work…can't Aurors even tell illusions from reality?"

_So, the Inferi are just an enchantment to play with us_

Tonks hung her head again and stared at the floor beneath her, realizing the trick that the Death Eaters had played on them; of course, it was so stupid to expect them to attack without a backup.

Another wave of pain made her shiver in a grimace as she tried her best to remain conscious. She was suddenly aware of a moist feeling that flooded her right arm, glancing down at her hand; she noticed a small river of blood had begun to form under her fingers, making the surface of the stone floor sticky with the blood that poured from her wound.

"You can't even move", the same voice whispered in a mocking fashion, "should've known that you could not last"

The young Auror swallowed hard and struggled to raise her head in order to meet the owner of such voice, her pink locks bounced with the motion and when Tonks finally managed to move, a strong hand cupped her chin and raised it.

A pair of dark eyes met Tonks's along with a wry smile, the bearer of these cold eyes was Bellatrix Lestrange herself, and she was crouching close to Tonks's prostrated form, staring at her niece with no mercy as she kept her hold on the Auror's face.

"I always knew that dirty mudbloods were an useless target for the Dark Lord", continued Bellatrix with a wide sneer, "but I will enjoy killing you"

Tonks stared back at her mother's sister and glanced sideways at the fighting teenagers; they were victims of to the illusion spell,and now, with a fresh batch of Death Eaters coming in behind Bellatrix, they wouldn't stand a chance.

A small grunt escaped Tonks's lips as she was pushed roughly backwards, landing with her back against the floor, she stared up at Bellatrix with defiance.

"Voldemort is going down", Tonks whispered as she blasted a surprised Bellatrix backwards with a flick of her wand, "Harry will make sure of that"

Her breaths came short and painful as Tonks tried her best to sit up with what little strength was left in her battered body, tears of pain began to form in her eyes as she sat up and her side ached with white-hot pinpricks.

"Leave the Inferi", Tonks called with a weak voice as she pushed her body up into a standing position, "it's just…a decoy…Death Eaters are coming"

Hermione looked up from the Inferius she had beenfighting for the past ten minutes and gazed at Tonks. "Of course, it's an illusion!", she gasped, "I just noticed that they have no scorch marks!"

Immediately, upon hearing the bushy haired genius, the other wizards ignored their Inferi and ran forwards towards the entrance; even the small boy that had been cowering under his large Inferius stood up and joined the others.

The Inferi vanished without trace, the spell was now useless but it had served well, for a group of Death Eaters had managed to climb up the stairs during the riot, heading for Harry and the other members of the Order, eager to please their Dark Master.

Fleur stood a few steps behind Tonks, her brow in a deep frown as she stared at the Auror's back with a surge of pain that invaded her chest. Joining Tonks at the front of the group, Fleur stared at the pink-haired girl andgrabbed her hand withelegant fingersthat began to curl around Tonks's."I'm not losing you", Fleur whispered without looking at the Auror, her golden hair fanning behind her beautiful face.


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm not losing you"

Those words left Fleur's lips with a whisper that carried itself to a tired Tonks, as if the sound were part of the weak wave of the wind that began to cover the darkened grounds surrounding Hogwarts.

The sky was a dark blue with tiny specks of the soft light belonging to the stars, and somehow, to Tonks, everything appeared to have fallen into a deep silence, except Fleur's words, so full of hope and emotion that made the Auror lose what little breath she had.

Closing her eyes for a second, Tonks felt long fingers around her hand spreading much needed warmth through her injured fingers and she sighed softly, a fresh surge of pain climbed to her chest as Tonks struggled to stay awake. The wound at her side covered a very extensive area of the right side of her abdomen and stopped a few inches below her waist; a deep gash that poured blood with every breath the girl took, trickling slowly down her battered robes and making its way through the outer side of her right leg until it began to drop lightly on the floor.

Her eyes opened and a grin formed in her lips, Tonks took a painful breath and gritted her teeth defying the pain that invaded her body. Curling her fingers around Fleur's, the Auror swallowed hard and kept her eyes aimed at the entrance to the Great Hall, if more Death Eaters were coming, she would be waiting.

"Don't worry", she finally whispered, "we'll make it…all of us"

* * *

"Will _we_?", Fleur breathed and tightened her hold on the Auror's hand, "tell me, Tonks, 'ow about us… you and me, will we make it?"

_Why am I worrying so much about zhis? We're fighting for our lives right now…I can't 'elp eet_

Another second passed, and Fleur was rewarded with Tonks's silence, the Auror was obviously thinking of a way to answer or maybe she was just too worried to think about anything else but their upcoming battle.

Whatever it was, Fleur continued to stare ahead, her blue eyes narrowed slightly but her hand gripped Tonks's with renewed strength, unwilling to let go of the Auror, until it was absolutely necessary to do so.

Unlike Tonks, the French witch barely sported a scratch, maybe it was her graceful way of fighting or just pure luck, that saved her from any injury. The Inferi illusion had fooled her just as everyone else, and that made her blood boil in anger while the feeling of defeat invaded her senses with hot waves of irritation.

Noticing a slight tremor on Tonks's hand, Fleur glanced sideways at the girl's face but she found a small frown and a pair of narrowed eyes, it was not until she skimmed her eyes down the Auror's arm that she noticed a dark stain on the black robes that covered Tonks's torso.

"You're 'urt", Fleur whispered and raised her face, trying to catch Tonks's eye.

"Aren't we all?", the Auror replied, without looking at the girl.

Suddenly, a bright jet light entered the large chamber and made its way towards the group of wizards standing in the entrance, before another group of robed figures stepped inside with their hoods drawn down upon their faces.

Fleur was blasted backwards with a tremendous force, her hand abandoned Tonks's in a quick and furious frenzy; the French witch felt her body crash on the floor a few seconds later, sending spasms of blunt pain through her body. A rising ache began to invade her blonde head and Fleur had to close her eyes in order to stop the dizziness that began to grow.

Explosions and small cries began to rise around her; the smell of burning fabric reached her nostrils and made Fleur's head spin as she tried to sit up with painful efforts. Pushing with her throbbing hands, the French witch managed to steady herself and glance around the room with heavy eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the sight of a small figure clad in Hogwarts robes lying face down on the floor with hands and legs spread out, resembling that of a child that was carving snow angels.

A sour taste rose up from her throat as she stood up, never taking her eyes off from the body; Fleur braced her legs and took a deep breath as she raised the wand in her hand and shot a Full Body Binding Spell at a tall figure heading up the staircase.

The Death Eater emitted a small grunt and fell backward, with arms and legs glued to the sides as the body tumbled down the stairs.

There was nothing she could do now but fight, Fleur realized, and nothing mattered more than winning this war. Running towards battling couples, Fleur shot Stunning Spells at the few Death Eaters that had managed to make their way around the group of Hogwarts defenders and were now heading up the staircase.

Cries and surprised moans came from the Dark wizards as they began to crash into each other, like dominoes in the childish game we've all played, and rolling down the sharp steps, creating a new pile of black robed figures.

"Ron, no!", Hermione's voice was but a high scream as it reached Fleur's ears with a terrible vibrato before a green flash of light caught the corner of her eye.

The French witch turned and her heart stopped, as she contemplated the young red-head's body falling slowly into an unmoving heap. Time had stopped once again, as Fleur widened her eyes and gazed at Hermione running towards Ron, the brunette sported a painful look of disbelief and horror as she kneeled down and took his face in her shaking hands.

"Ron, please", the girl cried with flowing tears in her brown eyes, "wake up, please!"

A small sob began to form in Fleur's throat as she tore her eyes from Hermione and surveyed the room with wide eyes, her wand clutched tightly in hand. Dozens of fallen wizards littered the floor, some unmoving and some twitching with pain while many others were still raging in a deathly battle of bright jets of light.

The smell of smoke and the coppery odor blood was in the air; the wind picked up and howled through the wooden doors with an eerie atmosphere, making the hair on the back of Fleur's neck stand on end as she scanned the bodies on the floor, looking for the unmistakable shade of pink.

* * *

The pain was unbearable, even for an Auror, it flooded her mind and ensnared her senses until it was all she could think about, her body was injured in so many places that it would be hard to count the wounds.

Tonks crashed against a wall and all breath left her lungs as she began to slide down with her back to the wall, until her legs gave way and she fell into a sitting position.

Her head hung as she tried to keep the tight grip on her wand, waiting for another violent attack.

Fortunately, the Death Eater that had blasted her away thought that Tonks was definitely unconscious, so he strolled forward with an enormous confidence, eager to finish her off with the infamous Killing Curse.

"Fooled ya", Tonks groaned and raised her face, with a swish of her wand the Dark Wizard's arms were painfully bound and he fell face-first at Tonks's feet with a heavy thud.

"Aagh", the Auror winced and try as she might, she could not pull her legs back, away from the fallen form of the Death Eater, and the blood loss had finally taken its toll on Tonks. Her eyes closed, and her breathing slowed down in an alarming pace as Tonks's mind played with visions of white-blond hair.

_You never had a chance to say good-bye. Why am I so afraid of her?_

_No, you're not afraid of her…it's what she represents, isn't it?_

_Love, you're afraid of it…why? You're not a child anymore…_

And within a second of these thoughts, Tonks opened her eyes and a warm flame was born in her chest as realization hit: what happened to Fleur when she was blasted back?

Their hands had been torn apart with the spell that took them both by surprise, leaving a horror-stricken Tonks standing with an empty hand.

Using every bit of strength she had, the Auror pushed her body up and prayed that her legs would hold until she found Fleur. Tonks planted her feet firmly and balanced her body with cold hands pressed on the wall behind her, she scanned the Great Hall with narrowed eyes and an enormous wave of relief washed over the Auror as her eyes came to rest on Fleur's body, the French witch was standing with a painful look in her fair face as she held her own wand in an attacking stance.

Tonks noticed the sorrow in Fleur's blue eyes and followed with her own, the trace of such feeling that made the French witch sob softly; emitting a small gasp of grief, Tonks's eyes fell upon the form of Ron Weasley and the crying face of Hermione as she held his face.

"No", the Auror whispered and her heart skipped a beat, before returning her eyes to the blonde witch, who was now scanning the room with wide blue orbs. Tonks let out a small sigh and she knew what Fleur was looking for before their eyes met; a mixture of sadness and hope was imbedded in both, soon to be replaced by the honest uncertainty of an unknown ending.

Tonks felt a strong impulse to make her way towards Fleur and embrace the French witch tightly against her own battered body, hoping to soothe the feelings reflected in the blue ocean that the blonde's eyes carried.

Tonks's breathing became slow but strong, and her heart was filled with warmth as she kept a fixed gaze on Fleur's eyes, taking in as much as she could from the girl.

* * *

Fleur was losing herself inside Tonks's eyes; her mouth was dry as were the tears that had been flowing a few seconds ago. A new rhythm took over her heart, and the beats quickened considerably as Fleur took a step forward, never removing her eyes from the Auror.

_If I die…let eet be with 'er_

Breaking into a quick stroll, Fleur stepped over broken bodies of friends and foes, over puddles of fresh blood and bits of rock and wood that rained from above as the battle raged on with the few survivors that stood with wands held high, defending what they believed in with fiery passion.

The French witch ducked her head as a jet of white light was aimed at her from a fallen Death Eater, but she never tore away from the Auror's eyes and her pace did not slow down when she waved her wand and immobilized the Dark wizard.

* * *

Tonks felt a stronger surge of pain at her side, and winced slightly as she tried to step away from the wall that her hand clutched for support. Closing her eyes for a second, the Auror hung her head a few degrees and opened her eyes, still transfixed with Fleur's passionate stare.

* * *

The blonde witch stepped in front of the Auror, her blue gaze was still alive with determination as she moved closer and looked up at the Auror's face.

Fleur swallowed hard as her eyes scanned the injured face of the older girl, she had never seen so many cuts and bruises; raising a pale hand to the Auror's cheek, Fleur ran her fingers over dust-covered skin and returned her icy eyes to Tonks's with a longing look, pushing her body closer.

_What would 'appen if we kiss? Do you know, Tonks?_

_We've done so already, 'aven't we?_

A deep breath from a silent Tonks, and that was all Fleur needed to remove her hand from the Auror's face and raise it to the back of the girl's head; her hand kneaded through pink strands as Fleur raised her face and captured the Auror's lips with her own in a passionate kiss.

* * *

With closed eyes, Tonks's felt an elegant hand playing with her hair as she leaned back into the wall, pulling Fleur along with her with a hand in the younger girl's wrist.

Their lips were pressed together firmly in a soft lock as the Auror felt another tug of pain in her side; ignoring it with another wave of defiance, Tonks pulled Fleur closer and ran her hands down the French girl's small waist, trailing the smooth curve with careful fingers as the Auror's back was pressed against the wall.

And it happened, the loudest explosion yet, sending a heavy rumble throughout the stone floor, dust made its way down and cries were heard, bearing fear and pain, anger and joy.

A light had appeared, flooding the Great Hall with warmth that rivaled that from the Sun in its best days, spreading from above like a blanket of golden rays that soothed their hearts and killed their pains with a loving glory.

Tonks pulled away gently from the kiss with a smile as she felt the lovely warmth on her exposed skin, her eyes filled with immense peace as she raised her gaze from Fleur's half-closed eyes.

The Great Hall was filled with wizards, young and old, they all stood facing outside, staring up at the sky, which was now beginning to fade into light blue, signaling the birth of a new day. And a soft melody rose from within, a voice that did not sound human but it was filled with love and hope draped around a fiery bass that brought tears of happiness to the young Auror's eyes.

**No, it's not the end! Reviews please!**


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